WJPA Sports

WASHINGTON (AP) — Konnor Griffin had a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Washington Nationals 11-5 in a game in which he was also spectacular in the field. Brandon Lowe followed Griffin’s key hit with a three-run homer off Brad Lord to extend the margin. Griffin, the 20-year-old shortstop who received a nine-year, $140 million contract back in April, showed why the Pirates view him as such an important part of their future. Gregory Soto got the win in relief.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Jude Bellingham scored two goals 98 seconds apart, Harry Kane converted a penalty when England was down to 10 men, and England handed Mexico its first World Cup loss at Estadio Azteca, a wild 3-2 victory to reach the quarterfinals. England moves on to face Norway on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida, for a spot in the semifinals. Bellingham stunned the crowd of more than 80,000 at a venue where Mexico was unbeaten in 10 World Cup matches, including three this tournament, when he scored on a header in the 36th minute and again in the 38th on a pass from Kane.  Meanwhile, Erling Haaland headed in the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute and scored again before the end of regulation time, carrying Norway into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time with a 2-1 win over Brazil that showcased the young striker on soccer’s biggest stage. Haaland, with two goals, tied Lionel Messi for the most in the tournament with seven each. Brazil’s streak of reaching the quarterfinals ended at eight, with its first round-of-16 exit since 1990. Norway next faces England with a spot in the semifinals at stake.

SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of American star forward Folarin Balogun, whose suspension was lifted in a decision that allows him to play in a World Cup match against Belgium on Monday. Balogun, the American leader with three goals, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday. A red card triggers an automatic one-game suspension. FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted, triggering praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium’s team.

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) — Chris Gotterup has won the John Deere Classic for his fourth PGA Tour title in the last 12 months. Gotterup shot a 62 in the final round at the TPC Deere Run. That helped him make up a five-shot deficit. And then he needed some help at the end. Ben Kohles was tied for the lead with Gotterup and in the middle of the 18th fairway. But he pulled his 8-iron into the water and then missed a short putt and took double bogey. Max Homa wound up in second for his best finish in more than three years.

LONDON (AP) — Naomi Osaka outslugged top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6 (2) to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time. Sabalenka had beaten Osaka in all three of her previous matches with Osaka this year including at the same stage of the French Open last month. But this time Sabalenka couldn’t handle Osaka’s pace and flat groundstrokes It was Osaka’s first win over a No. 1 player since beating Ash Barty in Beijing in 2019. That was before Osaka took a breaks from the tour to manage her mental health in 2021 and for maternity leave that resulted in her missing all of 2023. Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner also won.